help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

Help!

I have an outbreak of shingles with lesions on my right breast. My dr in consultation with Infant Risk determined I should take valtrex, nurse from the unaffected side and pump from the affected side (lesion is close to nipple).

All i own is a manual Harmony pump which I never use. I need to get a better pump. Ideally a pump I could take with me on a trip to Canada (which I'm going on tomorrow).

Any suggestions of pumps?

Also, what kind of pumping schedule should I keep? Baby is 11.5 months and nurses 5-7 times a day. Only one breast per feeding. How should I do this so she gets enough from one breast and the other one keeps up without producing too much? ????

PS. I'm going to go buy the pump in a couple of hours from now, so if you see this post, please send me some advice!!!!! Sorry for the short notice and superthanks

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

I'd imagine any double sided electric pump that is appropriate for a working mom should do the trick. Medela Freestyle is nice because it packs small (for your trip). But there are plenty of good options.

You can call me JoMo!

Mom to baby boy Joe, born 5/4/09 and breastfed for more than two and a half years, and baby girl Maggie, born 7/9/12.

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

i just went to babies'r'us and they had PISA, freestyle, and Ameda PY Ultra. these things are SO EXPENSIVE, i had no idea.

meanwhile i went to my baby's pedi, who gave my baby a chickenpox shot. she looked at my lesions and said that if i cover them, i can nurse on the breast. i'd MUCH RATHER nurse than pump of course. i pumped three times today with my poor little harmony... in the early months it actually worked pretty well, i would get 3 or 4 oz in 10 or 15 minutes. but now... ugh. no let down, half an ounce in 15 minutes, and a whole lot of pain. mind you, the breast is already ultra-sore b/c of the shingles attack.

so. i bought a medela PISA but i am planning on not opening it and returning it.

also, i saw a different pump there that intrigued me (unfortunately the box was open and they couldn't sell it). a tommee tippee expresser. looked gentler than a pump. but it was manual. anyone tried?

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

Well, if you can NOT pump, that would obviously be better on all counts! I don't know anything about the Tommee Tippee, but if you're solely pumping on one side, you'll probably want something more powerful than a manual. If you're just occasionally pumping, a manual may be fine.

You can call me JoMo!

Mom to baby boy Joe, born 5/4/09 and breastfed for more than two and a half years, and baby girl Maggie, born 7/9/12.

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

Thanks mamas. This pain is awful!
Today the lesions seemed worse, so I managed to rent a medela symphony at 5 pm on a Saturday!!!! I tried pumping but couldn't drain the breast. Pumped for 15 minutes and got a. Little over an ounce. The breast didn't shrink much. I ended up covering the breast in bandages and nursing and. Baby drank it all. Soooo... Am I pumping wrong? How long does one pump for? I don't want t irritate my breast even further. I can't believe how ineffective it was compared to baby.can you ever drain your breast with a pump?

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

Are your horns the right size?

And honestly, pumping is not easy. It takes work to learn to pump well. But what you are saying is true. Pumping isn't as good as a baby, and you can't fully drain your breasts without practice and work.

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

And if your body isn't used to pumping, it isn't going to be easy to do. You have to train your boobs to be accustomed to the pump. It CAN be effective at draining a breast, but it takes quite a bit of practice! Glad you were able to nurse.

All over the world there exists in every society a small group of women who feel themselves strongly attracted to giving care to other women during pregnancy and childbirth. Failure to make use of this group of highly motivated people is regrettable and a sin against the principle of subsidiary. ~ Dr. Kloosterman, Chief of OB/GYN, Univ. of Amsterdam, Holland

**Leslie**

Mama to: Shiloh (5/6/06) Nursed for 13 months and Josephine (7/26/08) Nursed for 23.5 mos Currently nursing my new little firecracker,Finley Catherine, born on the 4th of July!!

Re: help! shingles, pumping, travel etc.

Susan, how can I tell if the horns are the right size? they only had one size at the pharmacy, the standard 24. My nipple is smaller than the narrow part of the horn (the tube part). But when i'm pumping the areola touches the cone part of the flange. Is that OK? I have very small, thin, short nipples and small areolas. My breasts are small too.

To Leslie and Susan: my body is definitely not used to pumping. I had only pumped maybe 10 times with the Harmony at the beginning (I would pump 4 oz in 10 min, but I had huge OS).

I am in a dilemma now. I am afraid there might be a tiny lesion on my nipple. It's right where baby hits with her teeth when she latches on--her latch is not the best since the teeth came in and she always digs in with the top teeth and leaves a mark. I think this irritated the skin and now there might be a lesion forming there because of the irritation. I am covering my breast as much as possible but not sure how to deal with the areola. I'm going to buy a nipple shield if I can find one but it didn't work for us when baby was small and I had cracked nipples.

This has been very tough but you ladies have been the very bright silver lining (and my supportive husband too). I can't express how comforting, how relieving, how hear-warming it is to come here and find your answers, always enlightening, helpful and encouraging. THANK YOU.